One Wrong Turn
by The Great Space Hobo
Summary: Daxter was never good with directions. What happens when he gets lost in the Barons prisons and takes a wrong turn into a cell that’s not Jaks‘? OC, Mary Sue bashing, rating PG13 because Jak is Jak. better summery inside
1. charades

Disclaimers: I don't own Jak, Daxter, Krew, Keira, Krimson Guards, Torn, Ashelin, The Shadow/Samos, Brutter, Sig, Praxis, Errol, Kor, Kid, Crocadog, older Samos, Tess, Onin and Pecker, Metal Heads, wildlife, citizens, Precursors, zoomer's, or Haven City. *deep breath* you know what, it's just safer to say I don't own anything in Jak II

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Action/adventure

Game: Jak II

Pairing: JakxKiera, light TornxAshelin, and minor OCxOC

Author's Note: yep I'm back and I'm here to take back another story plot ruined by the horrible Sue authors! Last time I re-claimed the "Girl falls into FFVII" *on hold, sorry guys* Now I'm after "Mute girl", mutes where always fun and challenging to write, but not after the Sue authors got a hold of them. Now any time some one that has half a brain tries to write about some mute kid they get shrugged off as being Sues. Well I'm here again to write a well-rounded mute girl to prove that it's not the plot, but the Sue that ruins a story.

Summary: A/U-ish, As Daxter is trying to break Jak out of the Baron's prison; he takes a wrong turn landing himself in the cell of a mute girl. Locked up and forgotten, the girl begs Daxter to take her with him.

Chapter One: Charades

Daxter crawled through the rusted pipe; the fit tight even for him and the blue bag he carried. "A body as sexy as mine should not be put through his abuse!" He whispered heatedly pulling himself forward inches at a time. His voice, in a whisper, had echoed far louder than he expected it to. He bit his furry lip nervously glancing side to side. He couldn't be caught now. Not when he was so close to finding Jak. He continued, silently, push himself forward another inch and then another.

He was close.

So close that he could almost smell Jak's sea salt scent.

Moving through a sharp turn he almost got stuck in; he spotted a large drop off in front of him. Excitement and joy surged through every fiber of his small body like lighting.

This was it.

This was Jak's cell.

He was going to find his best friend and break him out of this hell hole. Daxter willed himself forward faster than before as he crawled toward the drop off. The good thing was that Daxter had managed to force his way down the small pipe by wriggling through. The bad news was that he fell face first into the stone floor.

"Ow!" Daxter cried holding his nose, "My gorgeous face! You better be grateful, Big Guy!" As he looked up to taking his surroundings he wasn't face with Jak, but a small cell no more than five feet by four. A rickety cot with its isolation gone covered in brown rag-like sheets was the only trace of atheistic in the room. Daxter heard ragged breathing from behind him. He whirled around, expecting to see Jak, but once again found himself disappointed and shocked. It was the tall blonde with large blue eyes, but a young girl barely ten years old. In the muted light of the cell Daxter could see a shocked expression on her dirty face that he didn't doubt he mirrored.

"Um... Hello?" He started awkwardly attempting to sound friendly in fear she would scream and bring the guards down on his tail. He had to fight to smile at the girl. Daxter had thought he had finally done it, finally found Jak. His heart ached painfully with disappointment at the fact he had crawled into the wrong cell.

The girl merely stared at him with large brown eyes. Her hair, a fuzzy red, looked as if it hadn't been brushed or washed in weeks. Her clothes were at least two sizes too big for her and were ragged and stained. She blinked a few times before seeming to understand what had just happened.

"Say, um, you wouldn't happen to have see a tall-ish blonde haired guy with blue eyes around here, have you?" Daxter muttered, his fur bristling slightly out large her eyes seemed to be.

Slowly a small smile twitched to life on her face. She got down on her hands and knees, nodded, and pointed to the roof of the cell.

Must be a mute like Jak... Daxter thought with a stab of sadness at the thought of the mute blonde. "He's on a upper level?" Daxter guessed. He could easily tell what Jak had wanted when they were together, but the girl was slightly harder to read.

She nodded, her hair falling over her shoulders into her eyes. With an annoyed huff she pushed the red fuzz out of her eyes. She reaches forward suddenly picking him and carried him across her small cell.

"Hey, hey! Watch the goods there!" The ottsel cried out while holding onto her arm for dear life. Even when his claws dug into her skin, she acted as if she didn't notice.

The girl held him up to the barred window and pointed at a tall tower like pillar that stretched up into the darkness. She pointed to him again, then to the tower, and then up again. Her eyes pleaded him to understand what she was trying to convey.

"He's up there?" Daxter tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He hated heights.

She put him down, flattened her palm, and pointed at it.

"Wait! I know this game! You have a... sweaty hand?!" The girl shook her head and pointed at her flat hand again. Her face was intense as she tried to get him to understand. "No... You want a foot rub? A tub of pudding?"

The girl shook her head furiously and pointed again to the tower and repeated the previous hand motions.

A light bulb went of in his head. "Oh! He is on top of the thing?! Is that it?"

The smile came back to her face and she nodded happily.

"Hey, thanks. Don't worry, buddy, I'm coming!" Daxter promised as he scurried up to the steel door. Before he could squeeze out through the bars, the girl gently held him back.

He almost snapped at her to let him go; he had to get to Jak. He needed to save his friend. However, when he turned to tell her off, the look on her face killed his protest. It was so sad. Her big eyes held a desperate longing and pleading.

Daxter knew this look.

She wanted him to take her with him.

"Look, I would bust you outta here, but I need to move fast and..." Her eyes grew wide and tears started to leak out of the corners of her eyes, bottom lip quivering. "Oh don't give me that look!" Daxter groaned shaking his head. He had always been a sucker for puppy eyes. "Alright! I'll bust you out too! Just stop giving me those eyes! Jeez!"

A large smile crossed her face as she hugged Daxter tightly to her chest.

"Ack! Crushing... Orange Lighting!" He gasped between breaths. The girl let go and smiled apologetically.

"I know, bask in my glory! I'll be right back!" With that Daxter wiggled between the bars of the small window. Unlocking the door by pressing a clearly marked green button he let out a triumphant shout. "Oh, yeah baby! I rule! Doors bow down in fear to Orange Lighting!" He struck a dramatic pose.

The girl clapped a hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook with silent laughter.

In the bright light of the cell block Daxter was able to see her face clearly. She had dark freckles splashed across her cheeks; they were even on her ears. There was something that sent shivers down his furry body. A long jagged scar that ran along her neck. It was as if some had tried to slit her throat.

Turning around Daxter noticed that they were on the bottom floor. It was quiet, almost too quiet, and it made Daxter uncomfortable. He looked up the pillar, but stretched far beyond his sight of vision.

Before Daxter was able to say anything more to the girl a sharp cry broke the silence of the prison. Both Daxter and the red headed girl flinched at the harsh noise. "That's Jak! I just know it!" Daxter said frantically. He adjusted the blue duffel bag straps over his shoulders muttering. "I have to get to him... Who else is going to save that big lug?"

"Let's see... I can't climb up there and there are no hallways leading out of this place. I can't go back to way I cam. Arg! Come on... There has to be something in this brilliant brain of mine!" Daxter mumbled to himself, his back toward the girl.

Suddenly the girl stomped her foot loudly to get Daxter's attention. She pointed to a near by hover cart and pointed up.

"Yeah! Great idea! I'm so smart!" Daxter cried cheerfully as they leapt onto the cart. The ottsel pressed the 'up' switched marked on the control panel. After almost crashing into the side and falling to their deaths a few times he was able to get the thing working right. "By the way, my name is Daxter? What's yours?"

The girl gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Oh, right..."

She smiled as if to say that she forgave him.

Up and up they went, cell doors flashing by as they gained speed. It was farther up than Daxter had thought. He started to wonder just how the mute girl knew where Jak was, but his thoughts were interrupted. The sound of clearer screams cut through the air much louder than the last. They had come close enough to hear two men talking. Daxter slowed the hover cart to stop a few feet below the platform. Few of the words drifted down loud and clear while the others were muffled by anger or the distant shouts from another chamber. The words 'dark,' 'dead,' and 'black' were all they could hear. Daxter noticed that the girl flinched in fear with every word that deeper voice spoke.

Daxter's ears were high and alert as he listened for any sound of the two men leaving. When he heard fading footsteps he smiled and pressed the up button again.

"Ding, ding! Third floor: body chains, roach food, and torture devices!" Daxter called out as the two hovered above the platform. The girl's eyes swept the room fearing that the other man hadn't truly left yet. Getting off the hover cart, they stood on the large platform that was connected to the rest of the room by a long, narrow walkway. The room was brighter than anything that the girl had seen in a long time. It took a few moments for her eyes to stop stinging.

Daxter didn't seem to be too worried about being alone. He headed toward the unconscious young man strapped to the chair. There was a larger red lighted machine over the chair, sharp blades rotating making the girl's stomach flip.

Again, Daxter didn't seem to notice or care. His eyes locked onto the unconscious man. He hoped onto the man's chest and said with good humor. "Hey, buddy, you seen any heroes around here?" When Daxter got a better look at his face, the tone dramatically changed. "Whoa! What'd they do to you?!"

The girl stopped listening to Daxter at this point, to intent on just wanting out of this dark horrible place. She wanted away from the dark damp rooms, away from the screams, and away from the loneliness. She shook her head. She wasn't alone now that she had Daxter.

Cautiously she moved closer to the blonde man to get a better look. He was pale, like he hadn't seen the sun in years. His ragged clothes were covered in blood and what little skin she could see was covered in scars. His blonde and green hair was matted and greasy. His face covered in coarse green facial hair. Daxter shook him, begging him to say something, anything. Suddenly the man's eyes flew open. They were blue and as wild as a crazed animal.

"I'm gonna kill Praxis!" He roared with such hatred and fury the girl took a step back in fear, almost falling over the edge of the platform.

Daxter tried to calm him down telling him he was going to find a way to break him out. He said something about the locks on the chair when the blonde man, who Daxter called Jak, changed before his eyes. His skin turned a pale bluish gray, his eyes went black, his nails grew into long claws, and horns grew out of his now pale white hair. With a grunt of furry he ripped through the metal restraints stumbling to his feet. The air crackled with Dark Eco as Jak stood chest heaving with rage.

The girl opened her mouth in a soundless scream of terror as Jak stumbled closer to Daxter. She was so scared all she could hear was the roar of blood in her ears and her heart pounding in her chest. Daxter's pleas fell deaf on her ears, even the dark chirping sound seemed to stop.

He was going to attack the person that saved her. She wanted to do something, anything, but the horror of what was happening was over powering. She fell onto the cold metal floor, cowering in fear, and covered her eyes. She was certain that once the monster was done with Daxter he could come after her.

A small hand touched her shoulder. She opened her mouth to scream again as she batted the hand away from her, eyes still tightly clamped shit.

"Look what you did, you big brute! You scared the poor kid! You've always had a certain way with the ladies, Jak."

She almost cried tears of joy as she realized that it was Daxter. He was alright. She opened her eyes and squeezed the poor ottsel to her chest. She hadn't known him for more than fifteen minutes, but she couldn't bare the thought of losing him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know the thought of losing someone as cool as me is heartbreaking, but don't worry! I'm fine." Daxter said reassuringly as he patted the girl's shoulder.

"Who is she, Dax?" Asked a deep rough voice. It was Jak, but his voice not as full of rage as it had been before. The girl picked herself up off the ground and turned to him. He still looked pale, but better somehow. His face was hard from trauma. The girl thought she would have liked that face a lot more before it had known so much agony.

Daxter wiggled free from her grasp and stood next to her. "She's a mute girl I found. Being the caring soul that I am... I couldn't just leave her so I busted her out, too."

She watched as Jak's face soften just a little. "She's a mute?" His voice carried a sudden softness, but it left just as quickly as it came. "Don't slow me down." He growled. With that he took the blue bag that Daxter had strapped to his back. He disappeared behind some crates, suddenly obscured from her view.

The girl's face fell. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to like her. She was still scared of him, but he was strong and that ment he could keep her face from those men in the red suits.

"Don't worry. He's a bit rough around the edges now, but under all that, he's as soft and cuddly as a baby Muse." Daxter said sound as if he was trying to convince himself.

This didn't help her feel any better. She didn't see anything in the man but hatred. What little emotion he showed before was still covered in anger. After a few minutes Jak came out wearing a blue shirt with wide cuffs and leather straps that were held together by a silver ring in the middle of his chest. His pants were white and his bots were a thick brown. On his head he wore a pair of worn goggles holding back his wild green blonde hair. The girl noted that the that the red scarf was still around his neck and tucked underneath the goggles. She watched as Daxter ran up to him and onto his left shoulder where Jak wore a metal plate.

Jak looked her up and down eyes lingering on the scar along her neck longer than she would have liked. The girl got the feeling that he was thinking about how much of a liability she would be. She attempted to stand straighter and make herself look taller, maybe not so much of a burden. This seemed to make him smile, though the smile was bitter and humorless, it made her smile back. He gave her a brief nod and turned around. With the smile still on her face, the girl followed closely behind.


	2. Free

Disclaimers: I don't own Jak, but I DO have all the games and a Jak plushy. That's has to count for something.... right?

A/N: Some words may be worded a bit awkwardly and I'm sorry for this. If you see anything please let me know. ^^

Chapter Two: Free

Jak growled in frustration as he helped the mute girl up onto the high ledge. It was taking too long; the girl was slowing him down. She couldn't run as fast as him or jump as high. He had to help her over every box, platform, and ledge they came to, and he couldn't run too fast or she would fall behind. Daxter kept reminding him that it wasn't her fault. Most normal elves couldn't keep up with him to begin with, but it didn't stop him from getting annoyed.

The girl was trying hard to keep up and not hinder Jak. Her chest heaved with the effort to draw air as she ran as fast as she could. Her already filthy clothes were drenched in sweat.

As they ran down a bare, narrow hallway, the sirens started to whale and the lights flashed red. Bathing the hall in a bloody light as a female voice came over the intercom.

"Warning, warning: prison breach on level two. Warning, warning: prisoners escaping!"

"Damn!" Jak cursed in frustration. He stopped so fast that the girl almost ran right into him.

"Jak, what are you doing!? When the alarm goes off it means run faster!" Daxter cried in panic.

"We'll never make it out at this rate; this place will be swarming with guards soon," Jak mumbled. He turned his eyes to the small girl next to him. She was shaking with fear and looking around in terror, scared that the guards would come down on them at any second.

"We need to move faster." the blonde man said, not taking his eyes off her.

"Jak...." Daxter said his voice filled with concern. He couldn't tell what his best friend was thinking that moment and that scared him.

Something had happened to his friend; something those bastards did changed him. Daxter used to know everything that was going on in that blonde little head of his head. Before all this, if someone asked if Jak would leave someone to save himself, Daxter would have laughed right in that person's face. Now, Daxter couldn't be sure, and it was killing him to think of his friend in such a harsh light.

The girl looked up at Jak, her face clouded with worry. Her eyes scanned Jak's stony face. He didn't look happy and the girl knew it was because she was so slow. Despite this fact she knew that she could trust him; she knew a hero when she saw one. This one might have had a.... wild and dark personality, but she trusted him nonetheless.

In one swift movement, Jak picked up the girl and put her onto his back piggy back style. The girl's face looked shocked and relieved at the same time. She wrapped her scrawny arms around his neck and her knees clung to his sides. With a grunt, Jak started to run down the long hallway as fast as he could.

It was strange. Jak could barely feel her weight as he picked up speed. She was light, probably because of the piss poor food they served to the prisoners. Still, Jak shouldn't have felt this strong. After nothing but being in a cramped cell and being tortured for two years, he would think he would be as scrawny as the girl.

For him, it wasn't the case. He never felt stronger in his entire life. He knew it must have been those Dark Eco experiments; he could still feel it burning though his veins. Jak clenched his jaw; they turned him into a freak! It was just another reason for him to make sure the Baron died a horrible death. Jak felt like he was starting to burn from the inside out. The edges of his vision turned a misty purple. The blonde elf blinked hard and shook his head.

'I can't lose control, not now,' Jak thought to himself as he fought to push the angry power into the back of his mind.

When they reached the end of the hall it opened up into a huge, warehouse like room. Large red crates where being lifted up by metal claws and being moved along by conveyer belt. Jak's eyes quickly scanned the area. He noticed even his eyesight has been enhanced.  
He could clearly read the tiny labels on the boxes that must have been over twenty yards away, but that didn't help them at the moment. The hallway led them to a drop off, with no way out, aside from the hallway they came from.

Jak cursed. His eyes searched for something, anything. The ledge was twelve feet long and five feet wide. The nearest crate must have been fifteen feet away from them, too far for any normal elf to jump.  
Jak smirked; then again, he wasn't a normal elf anymore.

"Oh no," Daxter mumbled, easily reading what the blond man was thinking this time.

"Oooh yes," Jak replied, the same bitter smile forming on his lips.

The girl tried to swallow, her throat felt dry. She didn't know what the two where talking about but she was sure she wasn't going to like it.  
Jak backed up all the way to the wall. The girl looked at Jak, then at the crate in front of them, and then back at Jak. It seemed to click with her. Her eyes widened in fear and her lips moved frantically though no sound came out. If either of the boys bothered to look at her they would have guessed she was begging Jak not to jump. She tightened her grip on the man, burying her head into the shoulder Daxter wasn't clinging to for dear life.

"Come on big guy! This isn't funny! Can't we talk this out?!" Daxter pleaded, clearly just rambling now to buy time.

Jak's smile just grew as he lowed into a crouch. His muscles tightened, ready to use all the energy they carried in them. He could almost hear the Dark Eco roaring though his body, demanding to be released.

"Hold on tight." Jak almost hissed as he sprang forward.

The small walkway ended sooner than Daxter or the girl would have liked. When they reached the end, Jak gave one last powerful push with his legs and was air born. All the metallic noise and the shrill sirens where drowned out by Daxter's screams.

She couldn't look. She didn't want to look as she felt them soar through the air. For a split second she felt weightless, her body almost lifting from Jak's. The feeling was gone just as fast as it came when they landed onto the crate.

Jak stuck the landing; the crate gave a sharp jerk, swaying back and forth. The blonde elf did his best to steady himself. It wasn't easy with Daxter pulling his hair so he wouldn't fall off and the girl holding him so tightly around the neck he could barley breathe.

The rest were easier to jump to, no more then a few feet away from one another. After a few more high pitch screams from Daxter and one aching ear for Jak, they reached the other end of the warehouse on another ledge. It was bare all except for a hallway on the right.

Jak ran to the opening, more cautious now. He became wary of guards as the sirens kept going. They had been sounding off for quite some time. They where fairly lucky at first, until Jak heard the deep, metallic sound of the Krimson Guard's voices as they spoke though their masks. He stopped in his tracks around the corner, his ears twitching, trying to pick out just how many there were.

He guessed two, maybe three of them. All complaining about how this prison break would mean unpaid overtime. Jak narrowed his eyes. He knew he could take them, but he would have to ditch the kid first.

Kneeling onto the ground Jak let her off.

"Stay here kid," he whispered to her as he slinked around the corner.  
A few seconds later the screams started, one was shouting for help and the other was shrieking in pain. She pressed closer to the wall and the screams echoed around her. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. She wanted to peek around the corner at see what was going on, but, remembering Jak's order, she stayed put. After awhile the screams stopped as everything became eerily quiet.

"Note to self: never eat the last piece of the suicidal maniac's pie," Daxter said to himself.

"Come on, kid! I won't wait all day!" Jak said impatiently from around the corner.

The girl almost jumped at the sound of Jak's harsh voice. Quickly she ran around the corner. There were three unmoving guards on the ground. Their once shiny red armor was dented and scuffed, and one had a huge hole in his chest plate.

The girl shivered, Jak was definitely the right guy to be with, though she still found herself wondering if it was safe for her to be with him.  
Jak already had his back to her, knowing that they were going to run into more guards soon. He didn't bother to carry her now, not wanting the girl to hamper him.

The girl carefully walked around the fallen guards after Jak and Daxter. Her eyes lingered on the unmoving bodies, afraid that one of them would jump up and grab her. Once she was clear of the last fallen guard, she hurried to catch up with Jak.

The alarm was starting to make the girl's ears ring and ache. Her eyes were not use to such bright light, let alone the constant flashing of red. They started to water and sting. She looked at Jak, who didn't seem at all bothered by either the loud noise or the bright lights. Just the same intense, half wild look on his face.

Jak had to move slower, now on higher alert. He was ready for anything that jumped out at them.

As they made their way down the twisted halls, they only ran into two more guards. Daxter didn't like it, he'd been running around this place for the better part of two years, and he knew there was a lot more guards than they were seeing.

'So where are all the guards?' Daxter kept thinking to himself.

"NOW!" cried the metal voice of a guard.

Suddenly about five KG's appeared from secret doors in the hall, and a dozen more ran up from behind them. Jak looked around him, anger riddling his face.

"Jak, it's an ambush!" Daxter shouted.

The girl looked around in a panic, tears streaming down her dirty face. This was it. They were caught. They were going to take her back to that horrible cell, and she would never get out of this place.  
Jak cried out in fury and lunged at the nearest guard. He wasn't going back to that cell, to that chair. He was NOT going to be denied his freedom any longer.

The commander yelled to open fire. Jak almost danced around the rain of red lasers. When he reached the first guard, Jak slammed his fist into his chest. The KG went flying back into the next guard but another was there to replace him.

He soon lost sight of the girl in the endless sea of red armor. He found himself cornered, surrounded by seven guards all pointing their guns at him. If they wanted to, they could have killed him by now. That meant they were going to take him back. They wanted him alive.

'NO! I won't go back there!' Jak though as the Dark Eco felt like it was starting to move faster, grow hotter in his blood. The same misty purple hue crept into the edge of his vision. But this time he didn't fight it. He let the rage consume him, let the dark creep into his vision.

He wanted to rip the guards to shreds; he wanted to feel their blood on his hands. His body stared to shake; he felt his teeth grow long and sharp and heard the crack of Dark Eco in the air. The room seemed to bathe itself in a dark purple as Jak felt his nails grow long and deadly.

"Shoot that thing! Shoot it!" one of the guards screamed in fear.  
Jak didn't hear the guard's words. He could only hear the roar of Dark Eco pulsing though his body. All he smelled was their fear; all he saw was meat that was ready to be shredded to pieces.

He wanted to laugh at their fear. He wanted to mock them, but all that came was a deep and savage snarl. Lasers started to fly past him. One even hit him in the shoulder, but he felt no pain. It only pissed him off even more.

He leaped toward the closest KG and sliced through him like a knife through warm, yakow butter. The guard screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

The sweet, tangy, metallic smell of blood filled the air, and Jak growled deep in his chest. He wanted more.

Later on, Jak could not clearly recall the details of what happened after his outburst of rage. All he could remember was the whirlwind of death, bright crimson blood spilled onto the stone ground, and the pure joy he felt when taking their lives.

As his dark anger stared to retreat back into him mind, apparently satisfied with the amount of blood spilt, Jak groggily returned back to reality. He felt like there was a huge weight on his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Like someone was pushing down on it. His head seemed like it was splitting in two, and every cell in his body cried out in pain.

Jak bit his lip to stifle a moan as he gripped his head, trying to steady himself again.

"Jak, buddy, you ok?" Daxter asked worried.

"I-I'm fine," Jak managed to choke out.  
After a few more seconds, most of the pain had subsided. Though his shoulder still burned from the gun shot wound, Jak was fine. He finally decided to look at the damage he had done.

The bodies of fallen guards littered the hallway. The walls were splattered with blood, the crimson liquid covered the ground. Jak was torn by the feelings of disgust at what he had done and pleasure that he had just sent a very powerful message to the Baron. A message that Jak was very dangerous and was now after him.

The girl came to him as an afterthought. Quickly looking around the hall, he saw she was nowhere in sight. Again Jak felt the tear between his younger self and his newer darker side. The old hero in him was upset that he let her get taken, but the other side was simply glad he was no longer hindered by her.

"You don't think the KG got her, do you?" Daxter questioned, sounding upset. He didn't know the girl well, but still, he felt sorry that they might have lost her to the dark prison. No one should be given hope and have it taken away like that.

They were about to turn and leave when they heard a loud thump. Jak sprang into battle position as Daxter clung to his shoulder, ready for the next attack. Then they heard it a second time. There were a few seconds in between each thump. Clearly confused now, Jak straightened up and looked around for the sources of the noise.

One of the secret doors the KG had come from was trying to be forced open from the other side, but a corpse was blocking the way. It would open about an inch or so and slightly move the corpse, but the dead guard would just fall back into place.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Still cautious, Jak slowly moved toward the door. Debating whether or not to move the body, he thought it must have been another guard trying to kill them. Deciding another dead KG was another blow to the Baron, Jak quickly moved the corpse aside despite Daxter's protest.

Jak braced himself for another flurry of lasers. The door swung open with such a force that it made a loud banging sound that echoed down the hall as the door hit the wall.

A scrawny, red-haired elf came almost flying out of the small room, clearly not expecting it to open that easily and ran right into Jak.

Jak, who might as well have been a brick wall, barely even moved as the girl ran into him. She fell onto the floor and looked up at him in shock, dazed at what just happened. She smiled up at him with tears still trickling down her face.

Jak was equally shocked to see the girl who he thought had been captured by the guards.

"Hey, short stuff! You're ok!" Daxter exclaimed smiling, being the first to break the silence.

Jak gave a small smile and huffed in amusement. He was a little impressed that the girl was at least smart enough to take cover and got out of the way in an ambush.

He gripped her arm and helped her back to her feet. After a quick check to make sure she wasn't hurt so he wouldn't have to carry her, Jak turned around and picked his way though the maze of dead bodies. The girl wiped the remaining tears from her face and followed them like a loyal puppy.

After making their way through the dead, the three jail birds came to another opening in the hall. It looked like a computer room with a low ceiling and wall to wall computer with flashing red, yellow, and green lights. Jak's eyes did a quick sweep of the room. After seeing there were no guards, he started to make his way into the room.

The girl made a click sound with her tongue and pulled on the back of Jak's shirt. A second later, where his foot would have been, a red laser shot through the fence like floor. It wouldn't have killed the elf but it sure would have hurt like hell.

With a semi-shocked expression, Jak looked down. For the first time he noticed that the floor was in fact like a fence with odd shaped patterns of holes. On the floor below them were about two dozen guards yelling at them. With a low growl, Jak picked up the girl again and bolted across the room.

Red lasers flew past them. One singed Daxter's fur; another clipped Jak's ear. Once they reached the safety of the other side, Jak's chest started heaving with the effort of running. Even with the Dark Eco experiments, Jak was far from being in good shape. The constant running and random battles were starting to take their toll on him not to mention that little episode he had during the ambush. He put the girl down and leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath. His wounded shoulder really started to ache and sting.

"I think," the blonde elf said between gaps of breath, "we're safe for a minute."

"Safe?! We're trapped in a prison filled to the top with pissed off KG with laser guns, and we have no idea where we're going! Not to mention this is coming from the same guy that said it was "safe" to go to Misty Island with him!" Daxter cried waving his arms everywhere for dramatic effect.

The girl saw a ghost of a smile form on Jak's face as he watched Daxter throw a temper tantrum. It seemed to her that he was remembering some long ago memory. For a split second he didn't look angry, just sad--maybe even a little happy.

She bit her lip, knowing that the two friends had forgotten she was even there. Not wanting it interrupt whatever was going on between them, the girl turned her attention to the new room.

Her stomach felt like it did a back flip and her heart beat faster. They were in another dead end room. There was nothing but grey walls and two pillars in the small room. On the floor was a small square fence like flooring they just ran across. She cautiously walked up to it and looked though the holes. Seeing another room below it but no guards, the girl looked back at the others and saw that they too noticed they were trapped.

"Damn," Jak said looking back at the way they came. They could hear the voice of the guards growing louder. They must have found a way out and were now getting closer.

"Jak you can break that fence stuff if you tried hard enough! It's the only way out!" Daxter cried, looking nervously over his shoulder.

Jak nodded and walked over to it and with a hard kicked his pushed his foot right though the fencing, shattering it.

"Come on kid," Jak called.

The girl nodded and let Jak pick her up again before he jumped down into the next room.

Jak didn't even bother putting her down this time as he ran down a long walk way with giant metal claws on either side of them. Turning a corner the can face to face with two KG that had their backs turned to them.

Silently Jak let go of the girl and made quit work of the two guards before they even knew what had happen.

The girl closed her eyes tightly as Jak did his work. She hated death. Dead bodies she could deal with, but seeing people get killed was another thing.

Growing up in the slums and being in the prison for Mar knows how long made her accustomed to seeing the dead. Though the act of killing, of taking a life away, still made her sick to her stomach.

After she was sure Jak was done, she opened her eyes again. The blond elf was already breaking through another fence. The girl started to wonder just what they were used for. It seemed random, almost pointless to have some small part of the floor made like a fence. She dismissed it, just grateful this random piece of building structure was helping them escape.

Looking down though the hole they saw that it was a slope, most likely a sewer drop off.

"You go right after me, ok. Just in case there are more guards down there," Jak told the girl.

She bobbed her head up and down, letting him know she understood and watched both Jak and Daxter jump down onto the slide like slope.

They quickly disappeared from sight and the girl followed after them, not wanting to be alone in the room. Jak seemed to be able to keep on his feet as he slid down, but the girl just fell onto her butt.  
They both slid quickly down the slippery slope, the girl having no control over where she was going. As the opening was quickly approaching, Jak kicked off with his feet and jumped over the water below onto a platform.

The girl tried to do something similar but missed the end completely and just fell head first into the cold water below. She panicked for a second, as she didn't know how to swim and thought she would drown. Luckily there was a box submerged in the water that lifted her head up just enough for her to breath.

After refusing to go any further, Jak was made to fish her out of the water. After getting her onto the dry platform he looked a cross between amazed and irritated though he didn't say anything.  
The girl shivered in her now soaking rags and wrapped her arms around her tiny body.

"Jak look! We made it! Yeah baby, we're free!" Daxter hollered with joy as he pointed up.

Forgetting about the girl, Jak looked up and saw, miraculously, an open door. For the first time in two years he saw blue sky.

Jak's eyes widened with another emotion the girl had not seen and doubted she'd see again for a long time; hope.

"Free." 


End file.
